Ames-Andrews Family [RG3767.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3767.AM:  Ames-Andrews Family

Papers:  1884-1970

Jefferson and Lancaster County, Nebraska:  Physicians; Attorneys

Size:  0.5 cu.ft; 1 box

BACKGROUND NOTE

Thomas J. Andrews was born in Ohio in 1851.  He graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1882.  He came to Nebraska in 1887 and set up medical practice in Fairbury.  He was the “country doctor” there for the next 50 years, retiring in 1938.  He died in Lincoln in 1948.

John Ames was born in Vermont in 1848.  He grew up in Chautauqua County, New York.  He was admitted to the bar there in 1868, upon which he immediately moved to Nebraska and settled in Lincoln.  He accepted a position as an assistant in the office of the Secretary of State.  He soon filled a vacancy in the office of the Justice of the Peace.  In 1870, he became the law partner of Louis A. Groff.  A year later, Ames married Lydia Cupron of Lincoln.  They had one son, Ernest C. Ames.  In an illustrious career, John H. Ames served in Omaha, and Commissioner of the General Land Office in Washington.  He also took time to write a history of the city of Lincoln which stressed the importance of the area’s salt resources.  He died in 1911.

Ernest C. Ames the son of John H. and Lydia Cupron Ames, was born in Lincoln on June 14, 1875.  He received his B.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1896.  He joined his father’s law firm in 1898.  He later became an actuary with the Bankers Life Insurance Co.  His rise in the company culminated with his appointment to Vice-President, 1938-1955.  He retired in 1955, but continued to serve as trustee until his death in 1957.

Grace Alsyne Andrews (Mrs. Ernest C.) Ames, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Andrews, was born November 29, 1880, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  While a child, her family moved to Nebraska, settling in Fairbury.  She graduated from Fairbury High School in 1897 and completed a post-graduate degree at the University of Nebraska in 1901.  She taught school in California and Nebraska after graduating.  In 1907 she married Ernest C. Ames.  They settled in Lincoln for the rest of their lives.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of one box of papers belonging to members of the Andrews family of Fairbury, Jefferson County, Nebraska, and the Ames family of Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska.  Included in the collection are correspondence, manuscripts, account books, certificates, clippings and miscellany.

The primary items of interest in this collection are the physician’s account books kept by Dr. Thomas J. Andrews of Jefferson County, Nebraska, 1908-1933.  A ledger of expenses kept by Ernest C. Ames of Lancaster County, Nebraska, 1888-1891, while a student also provides useful information.  Two manuscripts, 1884-1885, were school assignments for Ernest C. Ames.  An undated manuscript by John H. Ames discussing Christian morality is included.

The rest of the collection is comprised of material dealing specifically with the Ernest C. and Grace Andrews Ames family.  Correspondence consists of letters received by Grace Andrews Ames, 1900-ca.1970.  They contain information primarily relating to family and friends.  Clippings, 1907-1970, document marriages of various family members, as well as obituaries and memorials.  The clippings also briefly document aspects of Ernest C. Ames career with the Bankers Life Insurance Company.

Note:  See the photo component [RG3767.PH] for related images.

INVENTORY

Box 1

Folder

1. 1. Correspondence, 1900-1970

1. 1. Manuscripts, 1884-1885, n.d.

1. 1. Ernest C. Ames ledger, 1888-1891

1. 1. Dr. Thomas J. Andrews account book, 1908-1935

1. 1. Dr. Thomas J. Andrews account list, 1929-1933

1. 1. Certificates (see also oversize)

1. 1. Clippings, 1907-1970

1. 1. Miscellaneous

Subject headings:

Lawyers — Nebraska

Medicine — Nebraska

Physicians — Nebraska — Jefferson County

AIF/pjm               05-24-1979

Revised TMM      09-11-2018